Something There

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen:

Lexi's POV

When Jasmine dragged me into the main hallway of senior lockers, I knew there must be something up just by seeing the distress on her face.

But that didn't mean that I wasn't in total shock when I had to shove my way through a swarm of amused students just to find Mateo and Bryce screaming at each other.

My mind seemed to go blank as soon as I finally tuned into their fight.

I don't even get a chance to hear what they were talking about before I see Mateo slap Bryce right across the face.

My mouth seemed to drop from the horror of it all, but Bryce isn't at all fazed. He didn't even flinch, and now, as Mateo is raising his hand to hit Bryce again, Bryce quickly grabs his wrist, pushing his arm away to stop Mateo.

And then Bryce punches Mateo right in the face.

The punch hits Mateo's jaw, and there's a loud cracking sound. I don't know how hard Bryce can really punch, but Mateo stumbles back against the wall after he's hit, clutching his face in pain.

No. This can't be happening. Please tell me I'm dreaming.

But it's clearly not a dream because as I gasp out loud, Bryce freezes up.

And when I say his name, reaching for his hand, he cautiously turns around.

He's breathing hard and I see flames in his eyes, but when our eyes meet, he somehow calms right down. He holds my hand firmly and he's all that's keeping me upright because I'm shaking uncontrollably, my mind already racing, thinking about all the trouble this could get the two of them in.

"Blossom?" he asks softly, and I nod at him. I keep a firm grip on his hand, dragging him through the crowd and as far away from Mateo as I can get him right now.

I don't know quite where my feet are taking me, but I seem to have a plan somewhere in my head as I lead Bryce right to the front door.

Although I stay in school during lunch period everyday, we are permitted to leave to grab food somewhere else. So I push open the door, stepping outside, Bryce still following me.

There's a row of vacant benches and I go over to sit on one. Bryce sits down beside me, and I finally drop his hand.

"Why?" is all I ask him to start, and he looks down at the ground, ashamed.

I instantly feel bad for getting mad at him, so I take his hand again, giving it a squeeze.

"He's blaming me for his parents' divorce," Bryce tells me, and I'm momentarily shocked.

Mateo's family has always seemed so tight, and it's extremely shocking to hear that his parents are splitting up. I can't help but to feel bad for Mateo, but then I have to remind myself that I'm here to comfort Bryce.

Which is odd as I think about it, because Mateo was the one who actually got hurt, but I came to Bryce's rescue instead.

"How come?" I ask him, and all the light seems to fade from his eyes as he thinks for a moment.

"It's probably just easier if I tell you everything," he sighs, leaning back against the bench. "This is why I've been trying to keep the whole social media thing to a minimum right now, because when you search my name up online, after my social media pages, news articles show up. Articles about the very reason my dad and I moved here. We're trying to get away from the whole situation, but it seems to follow us everywhere. I'm sure most people at school know about it by now, but I'm just so sick and tired of hearing about it."